Update: Civilian Oversight Commission

By Tammy Edmonson, Police Team (MVFREE Newsletter, April 2024)

1. The Flawed Civilian Oversight Ordinance

 Thank you to the many people who have already endorsed MVFREE’s call for three critical revisions to the County’s draft civilian oversight ordinance. The draft ordinance that was released to the public in February would deprive the Civilian Oversight Commission of powers and duties that are essential to effective oversight. As soon as the matter is placed on the Board of Supervisors’ agenda, we will re-deliver the letter, MVFREE: Critical Revisions (Feb. 21, 2024), along with your endorsements.

 LEARN MORE & TAKE ACTION: To learn more about the deficiencies of the draft ordinance and join the growing list of endorsers for effective civilian oversight of the Marin County Sheriff’s Office, follow the link to the email, MVFREE: Oversight Ordinance. We will continue to follow this process and keep you informed of opportunities to participate.

 2. Marin Civilian Oversight Delay 

Unfortunately, the County has delayed presenting the draft civilian oversight ordinance to the Board as it seeks to “meet and confer” with the Sheriff’s union (Deputy Sheriff’s Association or DSA) in accordance with their collective bargaining agreement. We had hoped and expected that the meet and confer process would be merely a brief formality given that the DSA participated actively behind closed doors with the County Counsel in the development of the draft ordinance. However, it seems the DSA has been dragging its feet which has delayed the process. The MVFREE Police Team has written to the County and the Sheriff to express our concerns about this and other police union tactics that are commonly used to thwart effective independent oversight of law enforcement. 

 LEARN MORE: Click the link to read the letter, MVFREE: Resist Delay & Disruption (March 27, 2024).